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Post by smokey on Jul 21, 2005 17:23:07 GMT -5
Hi all, I am a complete beginner to handguns. I just bought a Beretta Cougar .45 and a Browning 9mm. I took them to the range to try them out. Everything was fine except one thing... well I'm not sure what the problem is exactly, so I'll just lay out what happened.
This was with the Cougar.
- I took it out of the case, made sure safety was on, took out the magazine and loaded it.
- I put the magazine in, pulled the slide back, turned safety off and fired.
- Once I fired all the shots, the slide came back automatically for me.
- At this point I took the magazine out and reloaded it and put it back in.
- After the magazine was in, I pushed the decocking lever.
- Now when I pulled the trigger nothing happened...
- Made sure the safety was off, checked everything... not sure what happened...
- I tried completely unloading the gun a few times, double-checked everything, still nothing happened when I pulled the trigger....
Please help thie newb out =)
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Post by TA on Jul 21, 2005 17:51:45 GMT -5
I'm not familar with the Cougar but, did the hammer drop like it is supposed to or does it not drop when you squeeze the trigger?
Explain this further please.
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Post by smokey on Jul 21, 2005 17:59:22 GMT -5
The hammer did not drop, I think.
When I pulled the trigger, nothing at all happened. No bullet came out, nothing moved, no noise anywhere.
Couple times, when I tried after, the trigger felt a bit weird... a little heavier.
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Post by TMan on Jul 21, 2005 18:20:23 GMT -5
You kind of lost me at his point. Actually, there are 3 different models: "D" "F" and "G". How the decocking works is different with the different models.
If you were ready to shoot again, there shouldn't be a reason to decock the pistol. You just insert the magazine, release the slide and pull the trigger.
However, if you have the "G" model... We really need to know which model it is.
Since it is a Beretta, I'm more inclined to believe it is a procedural problem vs. a failure in the gun i.e. Beretta makes some quality weapons.
Which model Browning did you get?
Oh, and welcome to the forum. This is a good place for information. A good portion of what I know was learned on this forum.
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Post by smokey on Jul 21, 2005 18:36:14 GMT -5
Thanks for the welcome. I agree, the problems probably me, not the gun.
The model is "F"
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Post by TMan on Jul 21, 2005 20:57:45 GMT -5
Okay, from the manual: "Manual safety-decocking lever (F Models): allows safe hammer lowering over a chambered round. The safety rotation interrupts and shields the firing pin unit from hammer strike. With the safety ON, the linkage between trigger and sear is disconnected."
So, by flipping the "decocking lever" you were also applying the safety and that prevents the gun from firing.
On the G models the lever is a decocking lever only instead of the safety-decocking lever of the F model. If you had the G model, you wouldn't have run into this.
We have had several discussions on this board concerning the combined functions of safety/decockers.
I'll never forget the first time at the range that I wanted to set my Ruger P90 down for a second, and just to be safe, I applied the safety and the hammer dropped. I knew then that I was wasting a lot of money going to the cardiologist because if my heart wasn't good, it would have stopped right then.
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Post by smokey on Jul 21, 2005 23:32:57 GMT -5
Oh crap, I didn't mean the decocking lever, I meant the slide catch. Whoops.. so the correct steps I did was...
- I took it out of the case, made sure safety was on, took out the magazine and loaded it.
- I put the magazine in, pulled the slide back, turned safety off and fired.
- Once I fired all the shots, the slide came back automatically for me.
- At this point I took the magazine out and reloaded it and put it back in.
- After the magazine was in, I pushed the SLIDE CATCH to release the slide.
- Now when I pulled the trigger nothing happened...
- Made sure the safety was off, checked everything... not sure what happened...
- I tried completely unloading the gun a few times, double-checked everything, still nothing happened when I pulled the trigger....
Sorry for that mix-up.... god i feel stupid
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Post by TMan on Jul 22, 2005 5:35:10 GMT -5
No problem, that is a feeling I have a lot, and after awhile you get used to it. ;D Actually, I had the same problem once on an expensive pistol from the S&W Performance Center, and I was really disappointed in the quality of the gun. Turned out what the problem was is the slide wasn't going all the way forward (the technical term is that it didn't go into battery). I removed the grease that I had put on the slide rails, cleaned it really well, and then put oil on the rails. Never had another problem. Moral of that story was that on really tight fitting guns you should use oil, not grease, on the rails. So it may be that your slide didn't go into battery, which would give you the symptom that you had. The other possible problem is that the jarring of the slide moving forward caused movement of the safety and it isn't completely off. I don't recall if the Cougar has a magazine safety or not, but to make sure: remove the magazine and take all the rounds out. Pull back the slide and visually check to make sure there isn't a round in the chamber. Then release the slide. Pull the slide back again and double-check that it is empty, and release the slide. Put the empty magazine into the gun, check that the safety is off and that the slide is indeed all the way forward. Pointing the gun is a safe direction, like at your wife's cat, and pull the trigger. Did the hammer drop? If it didn't then I think there is an internal problem with the gun. You will then need to call Beretta at (800) 636-3420, or you can e-mail them via www.berettausa.com/contact_us.htm If it worked field strip the gun, clean the rails (I use Q-tips a lot) and lightly lube the rails with a high quality gun oil. Then grab your ammo and head to the range. Don't expect to shoot well. You have had problems with the gun and at this point you won't trust it. That will effect the accuracy of your shooting until you become confident that the gun is going to work properly and you calm down. I'm getting ready to head to the range with my new Wilson, but I'll be back on-line this afternoon and I'll check this thread. Again, don't feel bad about getting your initial post wrong in terminology. You are rattled by having a problem with the gun. |
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Post by smokey on Jul 22, 2005 13:51:21 GMT -5
Great, thanks for the info.
The hammer does drop when I squeeze the trigger, so I did the cleaning and lubing.
Heading to the range this afternoon, I'll let ya know how it goes.
Thanks again!
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Post by smokey on Jul 24, 2005 18:06:13 GMT -5
Finally got time to go to the range, stuff kept coming up. The gun works fine now. I guess oiling it did the trick. Thanks tons for all your help!
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Post by "DoubleAction" on Jul 25, 2005 17:07:12 GMT -5
No problem, that is a feeling I have a lot, and after awhile you get used to it. ;D Actually, I had the same problem once on an expensive pistol from the S&W Performance Center, and I was really disappointed in the quality of the gun. Turned out what the problem was is the slide wasn't going all the way forward (the technical term is that it didn't go into battery). I removed the grease that I had put on the slide rails, cleaned it really well, and then put oil on the rails. Never had another problem. Moral of that story was that on really tight fitting guns you should use oil, not grease, on the rails. So it may be that your slide didn't go into battery, which would give you the symptom that you had. The other possible problem is that the jarring of the slide moving forward caused movement of the safety and it isn't completely off. I don't recall if the Cougar has a magazine safety or not, but to make sure: remove the magazine and take all the rounds out. Pull back the slide and visually check to make sure there isn't a round in the chamber. Then release the slide. Pull the slide back again and double-check that it is empty, and release the slide. Put the empty magazine into the gun, check that the safety is off and that the slide is indeed all the way forward. Pointing the gun is a safe direction, like at your wife's cat, and pull the trigger. Did the hammer drop? If it didn't then I think there is an internal problem with the gun. You will then need to call Beretta at (800) 636-3420, or you can e-mail them via www.berettausa.com/contact_us.htm If it worked field strip the gun, clean the rails (I use Q-tips a lot) and lightly lube the rails with a high quality gun oil. Then grab your ammo and head to the range. Don't expect to shoot well. You have had problems with the gun and at this point you won't trust it. That will effect the accuracy of your shooting until you become confident that the gun is going to work properly and you calm down. I'm getting ready to head to the range with my new Wilson, but I'll be back on-line this afternoon and I'll check this thread. Again, don't feel bad about getting your initial post wrong in terminology. You are rattled by having a problem with the gun. smokey; Welcome to the Forum. Reinstating what TMan mentioned; Sounds like the was slide not going all the way into battery, the first time out. Good to know what causes problems, in case it appears again when you least expect it. I've had the same problem a few times, which turned out to be either the ammunition or recoil spring. |
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